It was Brooke Whitcomb, my sister-in-law, a history teacher who never phones before seven.

“Are you eating real food?” she asked.

“Just oatmeal.”

“Brown sugar, or punishment?”

“Brown sugar and butter.

I’m not a martyr before seven in the morning.”

She laughed, and then the laugh faded out.

“My mother listed the Route 9 building on Thursday.